How often do you think of the moment you lost your innocence? For some, it began when responsibilities were bigger than the age they held. For others, it was the events that left a scar on them for the rest of their lives. And for many, it was the moment of realization that there was no longer a safe place to hide from the horrors of this world.

“A change in mindset and a change in perspective. We become knowledgeable of reality” replied Junior Luisa Martinez to what losing innocence may look like.

“I feel like I lost mine five years ago because I started learning about the inappropriate and vulgar slurs and perceptions people had towards girls. It made me realize how cruel and disgusting the world truly was.”

At such a young age, Luisa was exposed to the sexist and abusive views society had on women. It’s only reasonable her innocence begins to fade after discovering what the world is like.

It’s hard to be a teenager, we are expected to act like adults who have their lives together, yet we are treated like lost children. Our innocence lies buried in a coffin, along with the creative and naïve future we once dreamt of.  No path carved is alike, sometimes it’ll lead us to a dead end. We grow frustrated because life isn’t as easy as we expected it to be. The fairytales our parents once read us to bed hold lies that set us up for failures. Reality becomes very present over time, and it’s something we wish we could disappear from.

But my take is that our innocence grows with us. We find new places that hold comfort. New memories and stories to carry in our hearts. We will soon learn to carve our own paths, and that if one leads us to a dead-end, we have a choice to make a new path, or move forward to see what lies behind. Because there’s nothing dead in a world that’s so alive. Maybe we lost our inner child, but our innocence can be found if we just dig a little deeper.

We are all going through the same motions, just at a different pace. Hold on to your innocence a little longer, at least while you can. It’s the pains of growing.